Lincoln Continental Pulls 40K Interested Parties in Hand-Raisers

Lincoln no doubt expected that the return of the Continental will drum up interest in the brand and bring in both new and lapsed former customers alike. The results of a hand-raiser list of interested buyers not only affirms that belief, but likely even exceeds any previous expectations.

According to Automotive News, Lincoln says that approximately 40,000 people have expressed some degree of interest in purchasing the new Continental. While these hand-raisers are not always directly reflective of actual purchasing ambitions, it is certainly a great start that Lincoln is looking to go out of its way to build upon.

Matt VanDyke, director of global Lincoln, told Auto News that the brand has “extensive prelaunch activities” in mind to empower its dealerships to capitalize on prospective sales leads. Hand-raiser lists require that interested parties provide contact information, and it is likely that those names on the list will receive steady follow-up contact in the effort of getting them into dealerships.

Lincoln says that interest show in the Continental has been double that of even the MKX crossover that was released last year. The 2016 MKX has thus far been a sales leader for the brand, making the comparative sales prospects for the Continental quite promising. As Auto News notes, even if Lincoln doesn’t sell 40,000 Continentals right out of the gate, its sales are almost guaranteed to eclipse the 6,877 MKS sedans sold in 2015 with ease.

Lincoln will begin sales of the Continental later this year, and the new Lincoln MKZ is expected to arrive toward the end of the year.